I was in the midst of having a massage. Before the massage I was happy and looking forward to a 'relaxing' sesion. I was hoping to rest the body and mind and best to fall asleep. However, in the midst of the massage, I caught myself thinking about "what should I write about in my next few blogs?", "have I sent out that cheque that was due to the school?", "Had I updated the attendance list with the hotel?", "When can I confirm the speaker for the dinner function?". I am not at all relaxed! This sets me thinking...what should I do to totally relax the mind and body?
This is what I intend to do the next time I plan to relax :
1) find the best time to totally relax. by the end of a work day or over the weekends will be good choices since the mind is already accustomed to understand that these are not work hours
2) make time to relax. leave at least an hour gap between work and relaxation. So that the mind will not still be active, thinking about work.
3) Do not plan for anything that requires much concentration/focus straight after relaxation
4) Go a varied relaxation activities eg massages, facials, reflexologies
5) Do not play with your phones while engaging in relaxation activities
6) close your eyes and lead your mind to feel the relaxation activity eg : if you are having a massage, lead your mind to feel the deep tissue rub down your back, or feel the therapists exerting pressure on the soles of your feet during reflexology, feel the circular movement of therapists hands on your face during a facial treat. go with the flow of the feel... relax....
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| I need a massage! |
I love this post because I have been fire fighting this issue for past 3 years.
ReplyDeleteI could never relax owing to these uninvited thoughts. But now,I make sure I am 100% committed to what I am doing at that very moment. I read that our sub conscious mind comes up with best solutions and wacky ideas when active brain is relaxing. Like, I get the best ideas while bathing *strange*
Also, this habit is hard to break. When I used to practice Yoga in the evenings (7-8 PM), I was bound to receive missed calls & numerous text messages. This further stressed me because I used to treat this as 'Backlog' at work.
I identified my early mornings, evenings & weekends as 'ME Time'. I constantly told myself that if I need extra hours to complete my work, it means I am SLOW.
saakshi, I am happy at at least you relax your mind during shower! I would have thought you will still be thinking about numbers and members when showering! :)
ReplyDeleteYes, I am incline to really switch off during exercise/relaxing time. Eg : you may want to try to off your phone 1/2 hr before exercise/relax? Not like down to the last minute, where I guess your mind will still be active? Also, do not immediately ON your phone straight after your ME time? Leave sometime in between... really have a break, enjoy what you were doing at that point in time.
I constantly reminded myself that i will actually WASTE more time if my mind is not at the activity I was doing. like when I was supposed to relax, I don't. meaning I spend the 2hours, not relaxing! waste of time ain't it?